Cyborg - Ghost In The Machine
by formlessgod
Summary: AU. The story of Victor Stone, an athletic sophomore at Newark High, who is trying to find his place in a world of superheroes, until, one day everything changed. Plagued by his own demons he tries to do right by those left behind. But Victor soon discovers to do so, not everything can be simply separated into black and white. Cover Image from darkmatteria on devianart
1. Chapter 1

Beep. beep, beep, beep...

In a seemingly empty bedroom in a small town in New Jersey, an alarm clock went off. Said room was in such a messy state that it could easily be mistaken for a crime scene photo of a burglary. Clothes were lying around everywhere, even on the few pieces of furniture. The only table in the room was crammed with unused computer parts and with books that seemed to come, judging by the gaps, from the only bookshelf of the room. The sheets on the single mattress bed spotted a human-sized bump right in the middle and it was obvious that someone was sleeping deeply in spite of the alarm and for a while, that individual seemed content with ignoring the acoustic onslaught. When the person finally moved, a long groan was heard in the otherwise quiet room. The voice undoubtedly belonged to a young man but besides some shuffling, no further movement could be seen. First, it seemed as if the young man had gone back to sleep but after continuously being exposed to a beeping sound the teen finally gave up and let out an defeated sigh. Then suddenly and in spite of all the laziness shown before, a hand emerged abruptly from under the sheets and slammed the beeping clock shut. But as quickly as the burst of energy appeared it went away again and it took the sleeping person another five full minutes until he finally moved and revealed himself from behind the sheets. Appearing to check the time only his face was visible in the dim light. The face had warm brown eyes, high cheekbones, a flat nose and short curly black hair and even though, you could only guess the general form of his body from under the sheets, it was clear, that he had an athletic build. This body undoubtedly has been gained after many hours of some kind of demanding training.

This young man was called Victor Stone or short Vic, he was a sophomore at Newark High and a starter for the local basketball team. Finally awake and realizing how long his struggle versus the alarm actually took, Victor jumped with an unexpected agility from his bed and turned the light on, hoping it would reveal that he had made a mistake reading the time. He didn't. Keeping his cool and with another sigh, he looked around his messy room and promised himself to clean up as soon as he came back from school. A promise he was not particularly intent on keeping but one he made regularly. When his sight landed on the table he remembered his project with the old computers from last night. He stayed up extra late building his own network made of single board computers, that could share computing processes. He was proud with his work, especially since got most of the old and clearly used parts cheaply from a garage sale earlier this week. The possible applications of this project had left him so excited that he worked a lot longer on it than originally planned undeterred by it being a school night. He was hoping that by next month he could finish some rather complex algorithms with more acceptable computing times. Maybe he can get started on his dream project and build a fully functioning AI. Victor noticed with yet another sigh that his curtains were shut which had fooled him earlier to believe that he could still get some more sleep. He usually didn't have his curtains shut or any problems getting up early but since he stayed up extra late he hadn't wanted to be disturbed by the sunrise. Even though Victor didn't mind missing classes since, at least in his opinion, he was not learning that much in school in the first place and most of the knowledge he gained nowadays was from studying ahead on his own which he preferred immensely. Most of his self-studying was spent on his favorite field of study, namely computer science and the college level books on his bookshelf would easily impress any year mate he invited over, but from time to time he made scientific excurses and got informed about whatever his current interest held. But since he recently rejoined the schools' basketball team and skipping classes could potentially lead him to be suspended from said team, he quickly made plans on countermeasures to the possible suspension. He was sure that there was still a decent chance depending on the traffic that he wouldn't be late. So he decisively hurried to get ready, skipped his breakfast and quickly headed to his car, a green VW Polo he got as a present for his 16th birthday from his parents. Since the car represented reliable and unlimited transportation he made sure that it was always in pristine condition and ready to take off. So with a habitual movement, he started the radio alongside the intended car engine to listen to his favorite show 'Good Morning Metropolis' and took off. As Newark was rather close to the 'City of Tomorrow' and with the help of a self-made receiver that could receive radio waves from a longer distance than the common model he could easily receive their radio stations.

And as soon the radio was on, Victor heard the rough voice of the shows host Jim Banner: "marks the 6 month anniversary of Superman beating back the alien invasion from our very own Metropolis, on this occasion, the city will throw a huge victory party in honor of our resident superhero and defender of freedom. The event will take place on Main Square Plaza and will reach its height in the evening with Mayor Hunt giving a speech and revealing the statue of our favorite superhero. You guessed it. Superman! Yes, the Man of steel will get his own statue and listen to this, the statue will be fully made out of steel! The forecast predicts a clear warm evening. So there is no reason for you to not show up!"

"Yeah, not me" answered Victor grumpily to no one. Clearly distracted by the news, he turned up the volume so he wouldn't miss any other information. Victor was not really a huge fan of Superman or any 'superhero' but he could easily admit that single-handedly repelling an alien invasion deserved a statue and a party. Hell, the man deserved a medal. While Vic was not really a fan of heroes, he still loved to get all the information available on them, things like their power or their hunting grounds. As far as he knew his own town, Newark, didn't have its own hero. Knowing what would come next on the show, Victor was not able to sit still and moved around his seat. The show usually invited experts to comment on previous topics and lately, Superman was the most common one, so he was eagerly waiting for the coming discussion over the alien. Victor was fascinated by how Superman changed the public perception of him from being a vigilante to the one of being a kind-hearted hero of the masses. It was not like Superman was giving a lot of interviews or had some PR firm behind him shaping the perceived picture. No, he did it with unwavering justice, a constant presence over Metropolis, as little violence as possible and small but kind gestures to the people. Superman eventually won over most of the citizens, but Victor remained a skeptic. With the increasing emergence of superheroes more and more whackos started to show up and most of these individuals had some kind of power themselves. Every fight would cause some collateral damage and he was sure it was only a matter of time until the first civilians would be caught in the crossfire. The increasing publicity of heroes correlated with more and more powerful villains and Victor worried where this would end. Worst case scenario some kind of apocalypse. In his opinion, only Batman was really needed and therefore had a raison d'etre since Gotham was a hotspot for criminals and corruption which crime rate dwarfed the ones from every other city and was a hazard for its citizens long before Batman showed up. The dark knight seemed to shun any kind of publicity and it was public knowledge that he didn't have some kind of superpower which seemed to really put a bumper on the mentioned correlation. Even if Batman's methods left a lot to be desired about he guessed that most criminals in Gotham deserved what they got. But with all the new heroes, cities like Starling City and Central City now hold their own dangers. Nowadays it was in the realm of the possible to get hit by a Freeze Beam just walking on the streets or something ridiculous like that.

The show continued: "It is not known if the man himself will show up but many local celebrities are expected. We have one on the phone right now. Alexander Luthor, CEO of Luthor Corp, billionaire, and certified genius, welcome to the show, Mr. Luthor. Please tell us what you think about Superman and if we can meet you tonight to celebrate on the streets of Metropolis."

With a clear energetic voice, Lex confidently followed this invitation and replied "Good morning Jim, thanks for having me. Like seemingly everyone else in Metropolis, I am not ashamed to admit that I developed a little obsession with the man of steel. I even bought some shirts with his logo and I wear them on many occasions. I mean who in our great country doesn't love freedom and justice. These are the values America was built on and big blue does a mighty job defending those. Still, the scientist I am, I am for some time now trying to understand how he does what he does. But as soon as I started gathering pieces of information to attempt theorizing, I realized, that not much about Superman is really known. What we know can quickly be summarized as in his skin is almost indestructible, he posses super strength, he has the ability to fly at high speed and most importantly he was not born on earth. And I tell you this, in all honesty, it worries me that we as educated people are putting our faith so easily in a man we don't really know anything about. Don't get me wrong Jim I am not saying he is an evil overlord trying to subjugate the human race or that some kind of masterplan is slowly unfolding. But! At the same time, I feel, that we need to approach this situation with more caution. Most of all we need oversight over the things he does in the name of justice. That is why I advised some friends in the government to create a committee with that specific goal in mind and I expect Superman to soon receive an open subpoena to Washington. If Superman wants to fight crime in Metropolis we should be able to hold him responsible and accountable in case something goes wrong like we do with other agencies. That is why it is he needs to appear before a Senate committee so the elected representatives of the people can get answers to some of the questions we surely all have and if you are listing Superman, I implore you to follow this invitation and in doing so to follow the laws of our great country. Furthermore, I want to invite you to let Luthor Corp doctors examine you. Only God knows what medical advances your DNA holds for mankind. One drop of your blood could potentially save millions of people. Many more than any of your heroic actions would ever do. And should you take me up on this I can assure you I the best doctors money can buy will research any possible cure and therapy which can be derived from the results. Fully funded by Luthor Corp."

After effectively taking over the show with this short well-spoken speech Jim Banner finally resumed his program: "Wow, you heard the breaking news here on Good Morning Metropolis first. Thank you, Mr. Luthor, for sharing this information with us. And Superman, if you are currently listening, I am sure you have a lot to think about now. That is it for today's show. I am Jim Banner and I'll be back tomorrow at 5:30 with news about.."

Victor stopped listening at that point instead he thought about what he just heard. What would oversight mean for Superman? Would other heroes get the same treatment or would they stay vigilantes and therefore technically fugitives of the law. Would Superman recognize his accountability towards the government? He congratulated Lex Luthor mentally for having the same worries about superheroes and the consequences of the unsupervised upholding of the law hold then he himself. His public statement would practically force both Superman and representatives of the government to meet and to show some kind of results. Victor knew it was too late to fully shut them down vigilantism since there were now too many criminals with powers only people like Superman could stop. He was hoping that accountability would legitimize any action superheroes would take fighting those. Maybe heroes could be forced to follow certain guidelines that would keep the general public safer. He wasn't sure what would happen in the future but he knew, he wouldn't miss any of it for anything in the world. He would follow every newspaper article and Victor even made plans to write a web scrapper script scanning the web for exactly those articles He even mentally started coding the first few lines in his head. But before he could finish, he arrived at school with unsurprisingly enough time to not be late. So he grabbed his bag and headed towards the entrance in a hurried but unhectic manner. Once he entered through the big double glass door though he unexpectedly met an old slightly overweight man with still full white hair and a big white mustache covering up his upper lip. That man was the Principal of Newark High Stephan Ward. It was rumored that the headmaster would retire in the next few years, so he mostly stayed in the backgrounds grooming his successor. Victor had no clue what the man was doing in the entrance hall but not wanting to be rude to his principal, he greeted the man with a simple "Good morning principal Ward." and started heading towards his class.

"Ah, good morning Mr. Stone. And what a nice sunny morning it is. Cutting it close as usual I see. I was actually waiting for you, hoping we could exchange some words. Could you spare me a minute?" principal Ward replied with a friendly smile on his face calmly.

Surprised by this tidbit Victor was not sure how to respond. Even though there was no reason to decline he was still almost late, so with no other option he responded politely: "I am sorry sir, but I am, as you said, cutting it close for my math class with Mrs. Key in 104. If it is something important I could come to your offices after school."

Hearing this Principal Ward gave a short chuckle and answered: "I am sure Mrs. Key will understand and I think this would be the perfect moment for the conversation I have in mind. But first of all, let me say that I know it has been a trying year for you, Mr. Stone, and I know it seems late but I wanted to express my condolences for losing your mother last year. Cancer is a terrible business, especially for a woman as young as your mother. You surely believe me, when I say this, at my age, I am no stranger to loss. Just a few years back I lost my wife and that is why, I know that after experiencing loss, people often reevaluate their place in life. I recently heard you were rejoining basketball practice and I am sure you will back be in top form in no time at all. Leading our team to victory maybe even to a state championship. I certainly hope so. But after reviewing your grades and as far as I understand, you have taken an IQ test in your younger years with an exceptional result, I believe you can do more to reach your full potential here at Newark High. A mind like yours needs the practice to stay sharpened. That is why I want to invite you to our debating club and if you're interested we have an open spot in our computer science club for the next statewide coding challenge as well."

Processing the information Victor wondered about the principals' intentions. While it was possible that the man just tried to help as many 'troubled' students as possible so close before his retirement, Victor believed that this invitation was initiated from another source, mainly his father. Since his mother died, he and his father grew more and more distant. His father quickly lost himself in his work at the Newark branch of Star Labs and barely made it home for a shared dinner. And when they actually ate together they spent most of their time arguing about the courses Victor took or how little time he spends working on his wit instead of his body. Yeah, the longer Victor thought about it, the more likely it seemed that this was his fathers meddling. It was absurd to what lengths his father would go to, to mold Victor after his own believes. Enraged about being manipulated Victor huffed and plainly addressed the issue: "Has my father put you up to this? I told him many times, that I am content with my personal studies and I don't want him to tell me how to live my life. To go behind my back and pulling you into this is a new low for him."

Unperturbed and clearly with the experience of a man dealing with emotional teenagers for his whole career, the headmaster explained: "Now, now, Mr. Stone. I can assure you that your father has no part in us leading this conversation. I merely see a gifted young man who recently received some personal setbacks. A young man who could benefit from a little push in the right direction. Throughout my career, I learned that even the smallest positives pushes can change whole lives for the better. And to be honest with you, I have rarely seen a mind as bright as I expect yours to be. I know for a fact, that you intend to attend college after your time with us and while I have faith that you could get into the college of your choice with an athletic scholarship, I know that you have no need for such a gamble. With the extracurricular activities I offered and your stellar grades I believe every college would choose you over any competitor. And while I won't attempt to interpret your father's actions, I find it more than likely that he came to the same conclusions as I have. So I advise you to calm down and think about the opportunities presented. You don't need to answer me now, but you would make this old man happy if you would let me know how you decided." Ending the conversation after saying his part the headmaster then dismissed Victor with: "I believe that is all. You can go to class now. If you need to be excused, you can send Mrs. Key my way. Have a nice day Mr. Stone".

Baffled by the talk down he just received, Victor started to feel bad for doubting Principal Ward. Hoping he could hold his temper in check in future conversations he apologized: "I am sorry, Principal Ward. I lost my head. I want to thank you for the offer and I promise you, I will think about it. Have a nice day as well principal."

Embarrassed and dismissed he quickly went to his classroom knocked on the door and entered. As soon as he was inside he was greeted by Mrs. Key:"Good day Mr. Stone, please find your seat quickly and don't hold up class any more than you already have." Doing as told, Victor took a quick glance over the room and with a short apology sat down at his seat.

\- scene break -

A few hours later he and his friends went to the cafeteria to have lunch. The cafeteria was in a big hall with enough room to hold every student in the school and was filled with dozens of round tables. The food was distributed from a long counter by service staff on the left side. Victor never bothered to get to know any of the staff since they tended to change frequently. The oldest employee was hired just at the beginning of the school term a few months ago. The part-time workers wore coats and bandanas made out of plastic and since the food was only reheated, there was no real need to hire some qualified cooks, so the school offered this job on minimum wage for the people trying to get back on their feet. Sadly, this also meant that the food was, more often than not, barely eatable. None of this seemed to disturb Victor today. Since he had to skip his breakfast earlier today, he was literally starving and would gladly gulp down any kind of food no matter the quality. Fully focused on the acquirement of food, he only spared a glance to the room after he put a big portion of meatballs with noodles on his plate. Seeing that his friends reserved him a seat he headed into their direction. His waiting friends consisted some year mates of the schools' basketball team, Hakim and Jos and his most frequent seat neighbor Claire Higgins. Which initiated a conversation as soon as Viktor sat down by asking:"What happened today Victor, why were you late this time?"

Falling into their usual banter Victor easily replied with a smirk "You know me, I was dreaming of you the whole night and refusing to wake up in the morning."

Claire, a sophomore with a slender figure, a height about 5'3" and long blond shoulder-long hair and in Victor's opinion one of the most beautiful girls in school should be used to getting such compliments but her freckled cheeks still slightly blushed with a rosy color. Embarrassed she lightly hit him on his shoulder and said with a smile: "Come on Vic, don't say stuff like that. I was really worried about you but if you don't want to tell me...".

Victor let his shoulders drop and easily gave in. He quickly told her about his project from the night before and that he had simply overslept. After a quick narration about technicalities which he didn't know they understood, he changed the subject to a more recent development: "I met Principal Ward at the entrance this morning. He wants me to join the debating club and join in on the next school coding challenge." Claire excitedly squealed and nearly jumped from her seat. "That's wonderful Vic, you can join me in the debating club. We are gonna have so much fun. For once you will not be able to distract me with your flirting." she exclaimed loudly. Victor let out a groan and said "Easy there Clairbear. I haven't decided if I am going to join yet. But if the sheer possibility gets you this excited, I am not really sure if I should.." he teased further before starting to wolf down his meatballs.

"Oh come on, what is there to think about. You clearly will have fun, especially with me there and I could use the challenge. Not that you are gonna be much of a challenge but still." she replied continuing the back and forth.

Having fun, Victor mocked back happily: "Oh, do not get too full of yourself. I know all you tricks since you always keep complaining to me about the other members."

"You make me sound as if I am a little bitch going behind everyone's back. It's game on now Stone." which made Victor laugh.

"I don't think there is anybody in this world that could give you much of a challenge in arguing. You could probably talk Superman down." Victor said.

"Nice try, Vic. But now you have to come to at least one meeting with me. Maybe today after school?" but before Claire could continue the bell sounded and the group had to leave for their respective classes. "Saved by the bell again, Stone. I will see you later." she said with a wink before the group split up and she left for a different class.

\- scene break -

On the schools' basketball court, Victor was standing at the 3 point line throwing three-pointers time after time with a teammate serving him the ball. It had been a demanding practice today, he was drenched in sweat and his arms felt like led but he had missed a lot of practice last year and intended to make up for it, even if only to justify his place on the starting line up to himself. He knew that the coaching staff showed him a lot of trust and he was keen on proving them right. So after every practice, he stayed at least 30 minutes longer than anybody else. It was this attitude that stopped the grumbling of the reserve players and made them respect him instead. After finishing this extra workout he high-fived Hakim who stayed behind with him today for work well-done and went to hit the much-needed showers. Afterward, in the parking lot, he found Claire waiting for him in front of his car.

"Hey, I saw your car and was hoping you could drive me home, Vic" she greeted him.

Happy to oblige, he smiled and just said: "Yeah, sure. It'll be my honor, my fair lady." He gave a mock bow before he continued:" I hope you didn't wait too long here. How was debating today?"

"Oh you know, it would be better with you there but we had a lot of fun today. We were arguing about moral issues of superheroes and the implications for society today. And how was practice?" she replied while taking her seat on the passenger side.

Since he collected all kinds of information on the superheroes he jumped straight on that topic. Taking off, he began: "Yeah, the practice was great, my scoring percentage is getting back up there again. But enough about that. I'd rather talk about heroes. What is your take on peoples with powers?"

Clearly happy to talk about this even though she just went over the topic with her club, as her eyes gained a spark that showed her genuine interest she answered: "Oh, I love them. Especially Superman. That man is so kind and strong."

Interrupting her, Victor said: "I see where this is going. He is going to hold you in his 'kind' and 'strong' arms and fly with you towards the sunset."

Not perturbed at all by the interruption she huffed and continued: "It's not like that. Not that I would mind terribly. I mean, have you seen the man? Besides, Superman is practically the personification of justice, I doubt he has much time for romance. Then again he hasn't met me yet. Being serious, he is saving people left and right on daily basis. The crime rate and mortality rate in Metropolis outright plummeted. Just last week he even stopped a fire in a skyscraper. And he does all of this without getting paid. That man should get something back from us, even if it is just our support and admiration."

"Obviously that sounds great. But what about the other cities. Since the arrival of Superman, every city around Metropolis had a slight rise in crime. Even here in Newark, there suddenly are more burglaries and it could be only a matter of time until some gang sets up shop here. The career criminals just have to skip town in Metropolis and can easily continue their lives elsewhere. Doing exactly the same things there. Secondly, where does he get the right to involve himself in crime fighting in the first place? He is not a trained police officer and nobody even made sure he knows the letter of the law. And don't even get me started on the powered people that suddenly show up. Remember Supermans' fight versus that one metal dude? They nearly destroyed a city block. It seems to me, that some of these 'villains' are a reaction of some sort. These people feel the need to fight Superman or really any of the heroes no matter the price. They see them as a challenge to prove themselves strongest. I know they probably would be doing something illegal anyway, but now, with the powers they acquired, the police cannot handle them anymore. Without heroes, such a situation would have never arisen."

"Are you sure about that? Image a world without Superman and these freaks showing up. We would be defenseless. Face it, Vic, this was always an inevitable future. Now that these powers exist, they are the next step in the evolution of society. We need to accept, that we are not alone in this universe. We need to accept, that there will be humans that can run faster than the speed of sound. And as a society, we need to adapt to this. Just as we adapted to electricity or how we accepted that democracy is the best political state form. We humans always survived, because we were the most adaptable race and we need to continue doing so." Claire argued.

Surprised by the, in Victors' opinion, valid argument, Victor took a second to gather his thoughts before he finally responded. "You call it an evolution of society. But it's also true that every evolution always has to prove itself against the ecosystem. If it cannot sustain itself or cannot survive in a fight versus the current system. I would not call it an evolution. We as 'normals' need to show, that we are willing to put up a fight and that they cannot do whatever they want. Even if it means to not allow them to fight crime. As long as they are vigilantes, they should be stopped and if they want to continue with what they are doing, I am sure they are welcome to join the police force. Maybe we could have a special department for people like them. You mentioned the Red Blur of Central City. Central City is actually the best example for the danger of people getting powers. Let's face it, for all the people that showed any unnatural powers since the particle accelerator explosion only one of them is even somewhat upholding the law. All the others used their new powers for their own benefit, taking from those who could not protect themselves. The government needs to find people with powers and put them under a watchlist"

"So your solution is it, that every person with power doesn't deserve privacy? Do human rights no longer apply? Your statistic is without basis. We don't even know how many people just continued their lives after the explosion no matter what kind of power they have. It is a bit premature to just condemn every powered person because of a few outliers. I understand that criminals with powers should be put in jail and watched after release. Maybe like sexual offenders with some kind of bracelet. But that is only after they committed a crime worthy of it. And think about what it means for the Superheroes to be in a government database. The Red Blurr was a normal human before the explosion. That means he had parents, a family, friends, maybe even kids. You accept that the police might not always be able to fight powered criminals and you want the heroes to officially join the police force. But you know as well as I do that their identity would no longer be a secret the moment it would be in the system and as soon as their real name is known there is a strong possibility that their families, their friends or even just acquaintances will be targeted. Anonymity is the shield for their loved ones. As long as the government doesn't have a solution for powered people on its own, we need those heroes to protect us and to be able to do this they need to stay anonym."

"I am sorry Claire, but I don't see it that way. If being in the police is a risk then that is the risk they have to take. There is no way, that we should allow people to fight crime without any oversight. It cannot not go wrong."

For a minute nobody said anything. Seeing that they couldn't persuade the other they seemed to lost their energy. Still, it was not an uncomfortable silence. Victor knew they both had their own opinion and every complex problem need to be analyzed from different angles.

"That is what I like about you, Vic. No matter what you say, you have the same love for arguing as me." Claire finally confessed.

With a slight blush, Victor stopped at a red light and turned to face Claire: "Listen Claire. I wanted to do this for a long time now. But then my mom died and I had to go through that first. I feel like I finally moved on. How do you feel about being my girl...". Before he could finish he saw a huge truck with a liquid tank on its back speeding over the crossroad right in front of them from the corner of his eyes.

So he instead continued with a:"What the ...?". But before he could finish that the truck tried to take a sharp left turn way too late and was now heading straight for them. Victor and Claire had no time to even react before the truck slammed right into their car. Which was then sent flying and spinning through the air. When they finally hit the ground, the applied force nearly completely crushed the car and added with the impact damage you could barely recognize it anymore. Victor was screaming in pain. The air was filled with his hoarse voice. To make a bad situation worse the truck lost all control and drifted slowly straight in the direction of the car. Victor could not feel his legs but looking at how the car had practically impaled him he hoped the damage was salvable. For now, he was stuck in his seat though and as his whole left side was in unimaginable pain. Never before had he experienced such mind-numbing torture. Taking a moment with tears and his nose running on his face he finally was able to think for a moment and began looking around. He had not given up yet. There had to be something he could do. When his sight fell on Claire, he noticed that she was not moving, even though she should cry in pain with all the injuries she had. Her arm seemed to have been crushed at the impact truck. She had a heavily bleeding head injury. Viktor hoped she would be ok and but first he had to look for a way to get them both out of this.

After struggling for several minutes he knew that there was no way out for him. He felt helpless when he realized he would not be able to move from his seat. So despite his pain, he managed to call her:"Claire? Claire, can you hear me? Please, Claire, answer me. You need to wake up and get out of here. Claire, please." But he did not receive an answer. Fully despaired he tried to pull himself out of his position once again. So with all the strength, he could still muster he tried pulling himself from his seat. But no matter how hard he tried or how much pain he bore he couldn't get out. He was not strong enough. He then knew that this is where Claire and he will die and his crying started anew. Till then he was barely staying awake by his power of will alone. But now, resigned to his fate he no longer had the strength. He finally let the bloodloss lull him into unconsciousness. "I am so sorry, Claire". He saw the truck's tank reach their car. Damaged from the impact some kind of liquid dripped from the tank onto the cars roofs. The liquid was some kind of acid since it burned through the car's roof and reached Victor. Some landed on his face and Victor jolted awake. "Ahhhh" he cried. Some of it landed on his eye and Victor wanted to pass out again. With the last of his will, he twisted his body so he wouldn't be hit anymore but not before he got some on his arm.

Then suddenly the roof of his car was ripped off and the last thing he saw was a man with a solemn expression on his face wearing blue tights, a big red cape and a big 'S' on his chest flying above them.


	2. Chapter 2

"AAAAH" with a cry Victor woke up. 'What, what is happening? How am I alive?' He couldn't see anything. His everything hurt but except the feeling of pain, he had no control over his limbs or his senses. His head was pounding so loudly it blocked his ears. The pain was so unbearable that his screaming never stopped. "Ahhhhhhh". He tried to orientate himself several times, find out where he was. But he couldn't move at all. His senses either completely dulled or overloaded by pain. He soon lost consciousness again. Totally lost in the pain.

\- Time Skip -

Pain. His whole world was pain. Victor didn't know if this was hell. But he was woken up several times now and there was nothing except pain. Sometimes he smelled or saw something. But when he smelled something, it was the smell of blood. When he saw something, it was a light so bright it hurt. Victor was sure this had to be hell, that he was somehow responsible for Claires' death and now had to atone for it. At first, he had thought he was not responsible but he couldn't remember any other sin he had committed. He didn't know how long he was going to atone. In this world of pain, time had long lost its meaning. But he hoped it would end soon. That he could finally rest. That he had been forgiven. Soon his world was dark again.

\- Time Skip -

That was until the pain just stopped one day. What followed was a numbness he soon cursed. As much as he hated the pain and never wanted to experience again. To not feel anything at all except the vibrations of something drilling into his bones and his flesh was a hell on its own. Victor despaired since nobody deserved such a fate. Were his sins this terrible? To first be swallowed in a world of pain, nearly driven to madness. Now, he wasn't feeling anything. He was just waiting in this timeless hell, alone with his thoughts. He prayed to every god to make it stop but to no avail. Every time his thoughts were clear he only cried silently. Saying how sorry he was. Begging to make it end. Nobody listened.

\- Time Skip -

Then one day he had finally been freed. he no longer was a prisoner of his mind. The darkness had been replaced and even though he could only see through his left eye he was crying out of happiness. Taking the sights in, it looked like he was in some poorly lit lab. He was strapped horizontally to some kind of operating table. Normally this scene would be straight out of a horror movie but Victor did not care. After what he experienced this was pure joy. He finally could see his surroundings, smell the metal of the table and hear some metal door screeching. Maybe he had been on some pain medicine that dulled everything he could sense. After getting used to his senses again he tried to move but had no feeling below his head. He wasn't surprised, he hadn't felt anything since waking up and being paralyzed after his accident was a price he was willing to pay. Still, he hoped he would regain feeling in his limbs after rehab. He couldn't fight his grin because him being alive meant Claire had survived as well. As far as he had seen, he had been hit worse in the accident. After readying him he shouted out: "Hey, is anybody there? Hello? Can somebody hear me?" Soon the metal door to his left opened and a man in a lab coat walked in.

"Victor, are you awake?" a voice he recognized asked.

"Dad? Dad, where am I?"

"You are at STAR Lab's son. You have been hurt badly. Do you remember your accident?"

"I remember everything. How is Claire? Is she here as well?"

His father sighed and put a hand on Victor's shoulder. Victor never noticed the 'clunk' sound as his father replied: "I am so sorry son. Your friend died in the hospital. The accident had caused internal bleeding in her brain. The doctors did everything they could."

"What? No, that can't be possible. You are lying to me!" Victor cried.

"I am so sorry" his father kept saying.

Even though Victor kept denying that he was truth he began sobbing which soon blew out to wailing. After Victor seemingly calmed down. His father continued.

"We nearly lost you too. You had been dead a few times during the procedures and just barely made it. You scared me, son."

"I am so sorry, dad. It was not my fault, this whole thing was not my fault. I stopped at the red light and the truck just went straight for us. I don't understand how all of this could happen. It was not my fault." Victors' sobbing intensified.

His father patiently waited until Victors crying calmed down a bit until he finally replied: "The truck was stolen and the perp, a man called Thomas Wittig, hit you while making his getaway. The police ruled out your fault entirely. And if it is some consolation for you. Superman apprehended the man soon after the accident. He was convicted for several felonies including the manslaughter of your friend Claire. I doubt he will leave prison any time soon."

Still coming to grasp with the whole situation Victor stayed silent. Tears still rolling. After a while he finally said:

"Dad, I cannot move. I think the accident might have crippled me."

He looked his father straight in the eyes. Said mans' face grew more solemn. "Son, the accident had been a lot worse than you think. If it hadn't been for the emergency treatment you got here in STAR Labs you wouldn't have survived. I don't know how to tell you this. Victor, you are still you no matter what. But your injuries were so severe that we had to amputate your legs and arms. Your spine, as well as several organs, had been severely damaged. We had no choice but to replace them with cybernetic parts. The same is true for parts of your face. We had to resort to highly experimental procedures."

"What? What are you saying, dad? What have you done?"

"I did, what I had to do. I could not lose you. Not after your mother. Let me take you online."

"What do you mean online," Victor shouted. "What have you done to me?"

Ignoring him Silas went to his workstation and typed something on the computer. Suddenly Victor gained sight on his right eye and there was some kind of identifying system. As soon as he looked at his father he remembered basic information about him he didn't know before. He know where his father went to school, what grads he had on his diploma when he married. He even remembered pictures on which his father had gotten an award for groundbreaking work in the cybernetic field.

Enraged Victor shouted, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?". With this scream, he suddenly took a step forward. Breaking the bonds that had held him on the table. And with a loud bang, the whole table was flipped to its side.

"Easy son. You are a lot stronger than before. You have to be careful to not break something. And as I said before, I have done what was necessary and I would do it again. You are alive and that is all that matters. In time you will thank me for this."

"Thank you?" asked Victor in disbelief. "You think I will thank you? Do you know what I had endured for this? I thought I was in hell!" As Victor spotted a mirror he nearly ran to it as he wanted to see what was done to him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. The thing in the mirror was more machine than human. Parts of his face had covered by metal and his right eye was glowing intimidating in a blood red color. He flinched as he stood before himself. He flinched because he was scared of what he saw. When his observation went lower he saw that the back of his neck was supported by metal as well. After that, it seemed like he was fully machine? While Victor was examing himself Silas just stood there. He hadn't moved from his workstation since waking Victor up.

"How much of me is left?"

"Under the armor of the upper body, there is still most of you. Just protected. As I said before, we had to replace your arms and legs as well as your right eye. Your brain and spine are connected directly to you processing core. So you should be able to operate everything by thought subconsciously and consciously. Just like a human body."

"How do you have this technology? I have never heard of anything like this!"

"Amazing isn't it? I am not allowed to tell you where some of your parts come from but your limbs, as well as your eyes, were designed by me. They are for a military contract to help soldiers that had been injured in the line of duty."

"Amazing? You call this monstrosity amazing? You have played god. Nobody should have been able to survive like this. I am not even sure if I am a human anymore! Am I even alive? Do I need to breathe? Do I have a pulse?" Victor shouted as he punched the mirror, not only breaking it but also making a fist-shaped dent in the apparently metal wall.

Silas only sighed, visibly tired and said: "Yes, Victor, you still need to breathe. Just like every other human, your brain needs oxygen. And if your biology class was hopefully not totally wasted on you, you should know it gets there by blood. And I told you already be careful of your strength. In time you will accept this change."

Seeing that they wouldn't agree Victor changed the topic: "Why can I remember details from your life I didn't know before?"

"Oh, so it's working. Part of your operating system directly interfaces with your brain. Allowing you to access stored data. Quite genius if I have to say so myself."

"I am happy about that you can be proud of your work." Victor spatted sarcastically. "What else does it do to my brain? Can you implement false memories? Can you erase me with a command on your computer? Am I yours to command?"

His father blanched and immediately responded: "Son, I would never do that or let anybody else do that to you. You are in full control of your operating system. Just will it and you will have a console displayed in your artificial eye. As you get more used to these procedures you will be able to do it without the graphical interface. Go ahead, check for yourself."

Doing as told Victor he focused on his right eye and thought 'Console' and like promised it appeared.

"What kind of operating system is this?" he exclaimed surprised, not recognizing the file system or the OS.

"I cannot tell you many details about it. It is classified very heavily. I can tell you it is called 'A-maze operating system'. Though it was not created by STAR Labs, we do have solid proof that it is perfectly suited for a cybernetic body. It is parts of its protocols that allow the direct interfacing between your brain and robotic parts."

Listening to his father, Victor went through permission setting of his body and again as promised had found himself to be the superuser of the system. He would have to check the whole system later, to see if there was some kind of backdoor. His worries though had been placated for now. Checking the status report of his new body Victor told his father: "I can't believe some of these specs. Who knows what could have been done if this was available to the public. Why wasn't this released this?"

Chuckling and relieved that his sons' curiosity got the better of him even after all the trauma he experienced Silas said "Well, I don't know for sure. But it probably would be money. It is incredibly expensive to build one working unit and it uses some rare metals to make it durable as well as slightly bendable. For now, it's more a work of art than production ready. We'll have to test some features to make sure everything is working as intended."

Hearing the chuckle, Victor all of the sudden flew in a fit of rage again. "Why haven't you saved Claire? If you had this technology available, you could have saved her."

His fathers' good mood disappeared instantly. "Victor please understand. What I have done, saving you. We didn't know we would even succeed. Not one of these procedures were even approved. There is a possibility that I and everyone that helped me can go to jail for this. Still, we all gladly took the risk, knowing we could save your life. We can't take such risks for everyone. Either way, as I told you, her brain had been damaged by the crash so it would be even more unlikely to find success with this procedure."

Interrupting his father Victor spat "So, you are saying there was a chance? So what, you decided it was ok to just let her die?" Victor kept screaming. "You could have at least tried to save her."

"Victor, there were not enough parts available for two procedures. As I told you, your operation had a better chance of success and even if that wouldn't be the case. I would have always chosen you above her. Don't think it was easy for me to operate on my own son. Everything I did, I did for you and only you."

"Out! I cannot bear to see your face right now," Victor said without any emotion in his voice pointing the only exit.

Silas knew that his son would need more time to accept his new body and time to grieve for his friend, so he quietly left the room.

As soon the door closed behind his father, Victor started sobbing again.

\- Time Skip -

Scanning his system Victor heard the door open behind him.

His father had visited him a few time in the last couple of weeks but working through his grief Victor had yet to speak to him again. Expecting it to be his father but not turning around he said: "I haven't slept at all since waking up and I don't feel tired at all. Neither have I eaten anything. I am not even hungry. Will I ever eat again?

His father visible relieved to finally be able to talk to his son again replied: "There is a small energy generator inside you as well as some batteries. Depending on your activities you will need to recharge sooner or later. There are several ways for you to recharge, the easiest way would be connecting you to the power grid. If available you could swap the batteries. I am glad you are finally talking to me again, son. We can work on a way together so you can eat the famous Stone family spaghetti again."

Ignoring his father, Victor continued: "I found several libraries on my OS about interfacing with another system. But I haven't found any way to open a physical connection nor do I seem to have access to the WLAN of the lab. The Bluetooth cannot make a connection to another device either."

Not bothered by the dismissal Silas eagerly explained. "You will love this Victor. It's easier to show you, come to the computer."

When Victor stood before the terminal Silas continued. "Do you see the USB-Hub on the table. Get closer with your right hand." Victor did as told and when his hand hovered above him above the hub a Writing appeared on the display of his cybernetic eye. 'Do you want to eject USB-Cable?'. Thinking 'Yes' a cable was ejected from his wrist.

"Your OS recognized viable ports and if you are able to connect to them it will help you automatically." his father explained.

Not wanting to talk anymore with his father Victor ignored his existence entirely and instead solely focused on the monitor. Via the cable he didn't need to use any other input device instead he could communicate with the system just like with his own body. He was able to sieve through the files on the computer a lot faster than humanly possible. All relevant data he copied to his own storage for later usage. This included every information on powered people available, as little as it was, and every project that was available for the clearance level of his workstation. Curiously he was not mentioned in any project, it seemed neither the procedures he got or his continued survival had made it into the system. In fact, Victor Stone was declared dead alongside Claire Higgins. He gained a lot of information but it was not enough he had to improve on his hacking skills. He needed more information if he wanted to be able to do what he had planned.

When he noticed his father leaving he thanked him without looking up. For a second his father stood still before going out the door. Never turning around.

\- Time Skip -

"There is a power cable inside your left thigh. Eject it so we can test if your recharge is working."

Doing as told a cable come out of his thigh and was swiftly plugged into a power outlet. Seeing his current energy status he confirmed a successful test.

In the last couple of days, Victor had gained every information he could from the intranet of this lab and from the internet. At first, the constant streams of data had been too much for him to process but he had written subroutines that could filter and categorize every relevant data for him. That had lessened the stress on his mind considerably. From scripts, he got from some shady website his hacking skills have been improved a ton as well but some of the files he needed access to, were still out of his reach. Either the systems had been secured to heavily or the information he needed was only available on the physical locations. There would always be more room for improvement but he needs more practice to get more experience or better scripts he can copycat. He knew it was time to leave if he really wanted to go through with his plan, he needed to get to the guarded pieces of information. It had been months since his accident and while he had been barely conscious most of this time receiving his monstrous transformation, time and tide waited for no man. In the last six months, a lot had changed in the world. Heroes had become even more public. The Red Blur was now called the Flash and was publically recognized as a hero. He even had his own Flash Day. Superman died fighting some kind of troll monster alongside Batman and Wonder Woman. Who now had set up base in London protecting the city. Lex Luthor had been put into jail for creating said troll and was declared mad by every newspaper. Becoming a martyr superman paved the way for all other heroes the promising oversight via government had been dismissed. Just like he feared a lot more powered people had appeared around the globe as well. The world grew stranger every day.

There had been two pieces of information that Victor found particularly interesting. First there had been video coverage of a metahuman in Central City that could duplicate himself and secondly, rumors said the monster had been a clone and at least part Kryptonian. Since Lex Luthor created this creature there had to be some kind of cloning device. All information he gathered pointed towards the Kryptonian ship in Metropolis which was kept and lock and key by the army. For now, it would be a dead end, but he had several ideas about how to gain access if push comes to shoves.

Victor had a singular goal in mind right now. He would clone himself and become human again. He would be able to feel, eat and sleep again. He would go to Claire's parent and beg for forgiveness. Afterward, he would lead a normal human life and never look back on this horror show.

The first step of his plan was easy enough, leaving the lab. He still was not sure how to convince his father to let him go but he would have to convince him somehow. He then would go to Central City and find the cloning meta. He would find out how to replicate the procedure and how to transfer his mind into his clone. He knew it was going to be a long road until he finally finished his goals, but from his time on the basketball team, he knew every goal can only be reached by baby steps. He had to take every step one at a time.

"Dad," he began " when can I leave this lab?"

His father startled the sudden change of topic replied: "You want to leave? I am not sure that it would be wise right now. We still don't know enough about the conditions of your new body. I'd rather you stay a while longer in the lab, where I can react to an emergency a lot faster. If I'd to guess I would say in a few months time you should be able to go home."

"In a few months? You cannot be serious! I have nothing to do here and I have been awake for weeks without any problems."

"Where would you even go?"

"Looking like I do? Nowhere public. Dad, I know. I know the world thinks I am dead. Don't worry, I don't plan to announce my identity nobody will know what you did to me."

"That is not what I am worried about, I told you time after time that there was nothing wrong with what I did. I would do anything so you can live."

Victor sighed and truthfully told him "Amongst other things I'd like to apologize to Claire's parents." not revealing more of his plan.

"I don't know Victor. I still don't think you are ready. If you want you could call them from my phone" Silas offered.

Not getting anywhere Victor grew angry and shouted "You want me to apologize for the death of their daughter over the phone? Or are you afraid of how they react when they see what you have created?"

"Victor you know as well as I do that people need time to accept change. Just like you when you first woke up to his body. In time they will accept you and nobody will see you as anything other than Victor Stone. Don't underestimate humanity."

"You sound delusional" Victor spatted. "Nobody will ever accept a machine as a human. That is what I am, more machine than human."

"Victor, please, I thought we had been through this already. A person is more than his body. What matters is that you are still you, son."

"If that is true why can't I leave?"

Silas sighed, he knew had to eventually give in to his son so he tried to compromise. "I can let you go outside under specific conditions Victor. But only if you agree to follow my instructions to the letter. Can you promise me this?"

Victor jumped on the offer "Of course, given they are not unreasonable."

"First. You need to come here once a week for a checkup. Secondly, when you notice anything strange with your body and I mean anything I want you to immediately call me and if you are able to head to this lab. Lastly, I want you to call me every day to check in."

I did sound fair to Victor so he easily agreed to it. Arranging the specifics his father asked, "Where do you want to live Victor?".

"I was thinking about our flat in Gotham City. The citizens of Gotham never pay much attention to their surrounding not wanting to be a witness. I shouldn't be as noticeable as in other cities."

"That sounds reasonable. I gather you want to leave today?"

"Yes and please get me a poncho big enough to cover me entirely so I can hide moving around."

"I will see what I can do. Victor, I am trusting you here. Please don't exploit my trust in you. I love you, son." and with these words, he left the room.

Victor lost in his thoughts had a smile on his face. The plan was progressing more smoothly than he could ever expect.


	3. Chapter 3

With a groan Victor regained consciousness. Releasing a gasp, he remembered that since his accident he no longer needed to sleep which cause him to be instantly wide-awake. Why had he been unconscious? When he tried to remember what had happened, he couldn't come up with anything. The last thing he did remember, was talking to his father and gaining the permission to leave S.T.A.R. Labs. Afterward, he only drew blanks. He knew that he went back to the labs' computer to work some more on internal support features.

Then nothing.

What had happened?

More importantly, where was he?

Looking around he saw a spartanic furnished small room lighted in a darkish dim red. The only furniture in the room was a small table and a chair sturdy enough for Victor. There were no windows and the only exit was a metallic door at one of the 4 walls. At the right corner above the door, there was an old loudspeaker attached to the wall. Victor knew there were probably a camera and some bugs hidden in the room. He would need to scan the room later if it turned out that he was in fact stuck here.

He walked to the door and banged onto it with his metallic fists. Not making a dent, the adrenalin coursing through his half-body finally settled down. He then noticed that the little skin he had left was actually itching as if hundreds of ants were underneath it. Instinctively he tried to scratch himself but no matter how much he rubbed the was no release from the irritation, for some reason he was not able to break his skin his newly superhuman strength. Victor then knew that something was definitely going on. Somehow, he knew, he had been changed again. Not wanting to accept his fate of being a locked up lab rat, he used his new lit fury to smash onto the doors with more and more violent punches and as a result, the banging on the door became louder and louder. It took not long for him to finally gain the attention of his captors as a voice was heard over the loudspeaker.

"Victor please stop. You are not strong enough to break out of here. You are far stronger than the average human but you are no Superman."

The young captive instantly recognized the voice. "Dad, is that you? What is happening? Why are you doing this? What have you done to me?"

He could hear his father sigh and he even could imagine his father pinching his nose. "You left me with no other choice. I couldn't let you leave, you are not ready yet." was the answer he got as if that explained the situation.

One of the features he was working on before was to record and replay what he was seeing with his cybernetic eye. But even after replaying the earlier talk the shared, Victor could not believe his father would lock him up. There was nothing in the conversation that implied this extreme reaction. This wasn't making any sense.

"Ready for what?" Victor shouted. "What, the fuck, are you doing?"

"Language Victor! After our little talk, I realized that you wouldn't be persuaded to stay. I know how stubborn you are, well I guess you inherited that from me. So I did what I had to do and knocked you out with a gas invented by one of my colleagues. It is strong enough to knock out an elephant in seconds. I figured its strong enough for you."

"You gassed me?" spat Victor angrily "Are you insane? Is that what you do when you cannot win an argument, you knock people out and kidnap them? What the hell! To what end? Why? And why the fuck does my skin itch this badly? Is it a side-effect of the knockout gas?" he asked as he kept scratching.

"Son, your situation is a little bit more difficult than the one of other people. If the military ever got access to you or knew that we succeeded in creating a cybernetic superhuman they would mass produce supersoldiers. If I learned anything about the mistakes of Oppenheimer with the atomic bomb is that the world will never be ready for some forms of weapons. And the itching skin has nothing to do with the knock out gas. I don't know how much you know about my work but I work actively to produce a biological tissue controlled by nanites. So, to make you more durable I have replaced your skin with a prototype of my work. It may not have many functions but it can become really durable using an electromagnetic field. As long your power source is not empty, nobody alive should be able to break your skin. This should protect you from most common weapons, maybe even small explosions."

"Protect me? You did this to protect me? I was never in danger! You are just looking for excuses for your experiments. You ..." Victor shouted.

"I knew you wouldn't understand, but believe me, this is was is best for you, Victor." interrupted his father.

"And is this what is best for me, to be locked up? Will you ever even let me out?"

"You are in there for your own safety" his father shouted, clearly losing his patience. "You clearly are still too naive, if you think you can hide from every secret agency out there. That they wouldn't snatch you to learn your secrets. Once they have you they will try every experiment on you they can think off, just to figure out how you function. They will dismantle you, program you and if that does not work, they will kill you! It wouldn't matter that you are innocent or a minor or even an American citizen. There are only two ways for you to be safe. One becomes the next Superman and stays popular enough so that the public wouldn't stand for you to disappear. Or two, become powerful enough so that any government or anybody they could hire would not leave a scratch on you."

Shocked, Victor was lost for words.

"So yeah, I made you more endurable. This is all I can do, to keep you safe. You need to understand his, after losing your mother to cancer, I cannot lose you too." Silas continued albeit softer.

Victors shoulders dropped slightly at that, "Locking me up, will not keep me safe." he argued more calmly, seeing the point but not wanting to give in.

"It is the best I have to offer." his father said softly before severing the connection to the speaker.

Knowing that his father would need to cool down after their argument, Victor started searching for a way to escape his prison. Using his artificial eye his scanned the walls beside the door to look for a hidden console. There was just no way his father had a perfect prison cell ready. It didn't take long for Victor to spot a tile that seemed slightly newer. He tried to remove it but it wouldn't budge. His father did have a point, but if he would succeed in cloning his body as planned everybody would quickly lose interest in him. As he got ready for a big swing he hoped he would be able to reconcile with his father after his rebirth and then they would have a long talk about ethics. He really wasn't looking forward to that.

"Booyah!" with a shout to release more tension he lunged his fist right in the middle of the tile.

Success!

There was clearly a fist size shape on the tile. Ecstatic Victor repeated the motion with machine-like precision and after a few punches the tile clattered to the ground and revealed a newly broken console. Not perturbed by the state of the device Victor started peeling the screen off. He knew he wouldn't have access over the graphical interface anyway. He needed a port to connect the underlying system to his body. Finding what he was looking for he connected to the door security system. Luckily he had seen his father type in his security code a few days ago granting him full access. Unlocking the door he went into the next room. It was an unused lab Victor would need to find any indication where he was and how he could leave the building without getting caught. Searching the drawers he found an old security access card and a lab coat. Taking his haul he put the lab coat on hoping it provides him with minimal disguise. He knew that every little thing helped. He exited the door and checked the plaque beside it.

204

So he was on the 2nd floor. That gave him an idea about how to escape. With a plan in mind he no longer hesitated and he ran to the end off the corridor towards the only window ignoring a stairwell. He didn't know how much time had passed since he had been locked up but at that moment it was dark outside. So it had to be at least several hours. Considering his still itching skin maybe even more. He still couldn't process that his father had gassed him. He had lied so flawlessly while looking him straight into the face. Afterward, released a knockout gas without Victor ever realizing. He would need to figure out a way to spot future airborne attacks. That was a huge weakness that basically everyone could exploit to knock him out and worse if what his father fears ever became a reality there was a real possibility of a repetition of this event. With a much darker outcome.

"Victor, how did you get out?" Hearing his father behind him, Victor snapped out of his thoughts. His father seemingly went for a walk and came up the stairs in the middle of the corridor

"That does not matter. I am out and I will leave this place," he replied more calmly then he felt.

Lifting his hand towards his son, Silas started to beg "No! Please, Victor. You don't understand, it is not safe for you. Go back to the room."

"I don't care if it's safe or not!" Victor shouted.

"Son, please, listen to me. There is no place you will be safe. They will hunt you like an animal. Human rights do not apply in their mind." his father continued.

"Then it's good that you made sure, that I am no longer human!" Victor snapped. He had heard enough and finally executed his escape plan, Victor opened the window and simply jumped out. Thanks to his new body he would have no problems surviving a jump out from this height.

'Clonk!' with a loud he safely landed. With a last glance towards the window where his father was now standing Victor ran into the night.

\- Time Skip -

Getting off the bus in Central City Victor was finally ready for the next step in his plan. After escaping his father, he had rushed home to get his widest most covering clothes. That included a big dark green hoodie, that went as low as hips, low hanging jeans, and some basketball sneakers. He took all the cash he could find and rushed to the central bus station. After purchasing the tickets and a few hours on the bus he was finally ready to head to the S.T.A.R. Labs branch in Central City. Since it would take some time until he would find the cloning meta, he would first need to set up his base of operations inside the abandoned local branch. He was pretty tight on money right now and there was no secure income insight, so he had to spend every dollar very carefully. He had even taken a slightly later bus to save a few extra bucks. Risking gaining unwanted attention. He planned to first asses the grounds before he bought any equipment he might need. Somewhere along the way, he needed to figure out a way to earn some money. He figured it would probably take him a lot of money to build the final cloning device. It was still dark even though it was early in the morning when arrived at the laboratories. The building was huge, much bigger than his fathers' branch. Using his cybernetic eye to scan for security cameras and not finding any, he jumped over the fence surrounding the building and headed to the front door. Using his access card he opened the door with a swipe and purposefully went through the entrance hall towards the elevator in the back. He had studied the blueprints before when he was still staying at his fathers' lab and thanks to his now eidetic memory he knew every crook and cranny of this building and with his access card nothing would stay closed for him. Taking the elevator to the lower level he went straight to the central control room, which, he planned, would be his base. If there were enough parts still salvable then this could potentially be the place where he would be reborn.

Sadly his whole plan fell apart alongside his good mood shortly after arriving. It seemed he was not the only person to realize that this was a perfect secret HQ. At the back of the room was a bright red Flash costume on display and since the Flash literally appeared after the particle accelerator explosion and the following closure of this branch meant that Victor had probably just walked into the speedster lair. He would have to hurry out of here and look for a new place, maybe he should get a warehouse by the docks. People around here tended to not pay much attention to a shady looking weirdo. He walked to the closest computer wanting to delete any video footage of him and started interfacing instantly. He soon realized that lady luck had been on his side after all. The fastest man alive used this place as a prison for people with powers and he had just gotten full control over it. These guys even had their own satellite. He knew Flash had apprehended the cloning meta so he only needed to find his cell, as well as any data Flash, had on him. It did not take long for him to find the files he needed. Apparently, the meta's name was Danton Black alias Multiplex, Danton was a bio-geneticist who specialized in therapeutic cloning and was formerly employed by Stagg Industries. This was exactly what Victor needed but the next few lines threw a huge wrench into Victor's plan. Multiplex had died a few months ago. Devastated, Victor would need to start anew, but this trip hadn't been for nothing. He saved the data by former Star Labs scientists Dr. Caitlin Snow and Dr. Cisco Ramon about Danton and looked for any camera footage he would need to destroy. He just had acquired the first pieces of information towards cloning. He knew if he wanted to succeed he would need a half-glass-full attitude. And even if it would take quite a while until he understood every logged detail of the data he just acquired he would get there someday. The hardest part would always be getting reliable data.

After deleting every camera footage of the day he noticed that the Flash had not been careless as he first thought. A huge part of old files had been encrypted and Victor guessed they contained the speedster real identity as well as the identity of his accomplices. Copying the files, since he had a lot of space left on his system, in case the would someday gain access to the encryption key. After securing the data he hurried back to the elevators but it seemed like Victor would not get off that easy. Opening the door a young man stepped out of the elevator with a big yawn and a steaming coffee in hand. Victor cursed his fate. The room offered no place to hide so the young man had not even needed to step out before he had immediately spotted him.

"Woah, what? Who are you?" the man asked scared and jumped back into the lift hitting the button as fast as he could. The coffee in his hand spilled and left a small puddle on the ground.

With victors' eye focusing on the man he quickly found a database entry and identified him.

Dr. Cisco Ramon

Former Mechanical engineer at S.T.A.R. Labs

Current occupation unknown

Threat level: 0

Victor would have to decide how to proceed quickly. This man was clearly an accomplice of the Flash and even though Victor was now far stronger than any other human being, the Flash could easily dismantle him with his speed. He needed to tread very carefully he had just broken inside their HQ, discovered their illegal activities and to make it worse he knew they had a secret prison in their basement. He would need to make some kind deal with the man.

"I would prefer not to leave my name, Dr. Ramon" he replied politely stepping to the front of the elevator and stopping the door from closing with his hand.

Startled by the response he stepped back as far as he could and looked around wildly for something to defend himself with. But since Dr. Ramon was in an empty elevator the only thing he had was the hot coffee in his hand.

"I don't mean you any harm. I had no idea this building was in use when I came here today. Let us just go our separate ways." Victor told the engineer, trying to calm the man down.

"Yeah, that is what psychos always say in movies before they go on a murder spree." It seemed as if it had the opposite effect on the scientist. Since calming down was not working he would need to use a more direct approach.

He dropped the formalities and began: "Listen, man, this is a huge misunderstanding. And if I am reading this situation correctly you work with the Flash, right?" Victor asked trying to diffuse the situation.

"Yeah I am and he will be here any second so don't try anything funny pal."

"Judging by how his suit was in the control room I rather doubt that." Victor dryly replied.

Clearly, that wasn't what Cisco wanted to hear right now. He threw his coffee in Victors direction and tried to grab the watch on his arm with his now free hand. Seeing the movement Victor ignored the coffee as it splashed against his chest and jumped forwards grabbing both hands of the scientist. There would never be a contest in strength between those two. He simply pinned Cisco to the wall who fought with all his might but the difference in strength had been as expected too huge. Victor still clung to hope he could somehow salvage this situation. Meanwhile, Cisco was having none of this and let out a high pitch squeak.

"Please don't do that man. If you could just listen to what I have to say. I just arrived in Central City a few hours ago and I had no idea this branch was in use. I was looking for a man who has nothing to do with you and I promise you, I have no ill-will towards you, the Flash or even the man I am looking for either. Will you please calm down?" Victor said waiting for some kind of reaction.

With fear clearly still written on his face, Cisco nodded slowly.

Content with this Victor offered "If I let you go now, will you not activate whatever you watch does?"

Receiving another nod, this time, less hesitant, he let the former S.T.A.R. Labs employee go and took a step back to give the man some space.

Said man instantly grabbed his watch but didn't trigger the mechanism on it.

"What do you want? Who are you? What are you doing here?" Cisco rapid-fired his questions.

Victor let out a sigh before answering: "Dude, I already told you the answer to all those questions. I want nothing from you. I'd rather not tell you my name. I was looking for a man."

Not satisfied he asked, "Who are you looking for?"

"Danton Black"

"The Multiplex? What do you want with that guy? You are not making your case looking for a criminal here. I am getting bad vibes already." Cisco said, still talking very fast.

"I am interested in his work. Why, do you know him?" asked Victor keeping his voice unwavering. He tried to hide the fact he had hacked their system. They would notice the deleted footage later but he would be hopefully gone by then.

"Why are you here?" Cisco asked further, trying to control the conversation.

Wanting to calm the scientist down Victor easily complied. "I didn't know how long it would take me to find the man, so I wanted to have a cheap base of operation. I have an access card" Victor said while holding his card up " and I didn't want to rent a flat if I could just sleep here."

"You do know the guy went crazy and killed people right?"

"Actually I didn't know that part," Victor confessed truthfully.

"Sorry to tell you that but the man is dead. For a few months now."

"Really? Damn, I have really bad luck. How did he die?" the former basketball player lied.

"He fell to his death, the Flash tried to save him but.." clearly not comfortable with the topic Cisco didn't continue the sentence and instead changed it. "So this awkward."

"Yeah, it hella is." after a moment of silence Victor asked, "So you work with the Flash, huh?"

"Yep." popping the p Cisco continued, "How did you get the access card?"

Victor didn't like to lie this much but he knew to confess to theft would escalate the situation again. "I used to work for another branch."

"Newark," Victor added.

"Oh, so you are into cybernetics? Sweet man, I am myself work more with different forms of energy waves but I am a big fan of what you guys do down there. Is that why you are so strong? Do you wear a robot suit? Have you written any paper I know?"

"Nice try, but I won't tell you my name easily."

Cisco then relaxed. It seemed to get somewhat control over the situation had gone a long way in making him feel safe. "Listen, man, you seem like a nice dude and I even believe you somewhat that you are only here for Danton Black but I can't let you leave this easily. Besides you voice sound awfully young for a former S.T.A.R. Labs scientist. My colleagues will be here any minute and then the fuzz is up. So you better start spilling." Cisco confessed offering an olive branch.

Victor sighed. He still could easily get away but that meant potentially making an enemy out of the Flash. That wasn't something he could afford to do. Not now he knew what reach this group had. Satellite and all. He would need to compromise. "OK. But we will talk alone. Somewhere where nobody can surprise us. This elevator isn't the place for the story I am about to tell you. Do you know someplace nobody will disturb us?"

"Nah uh, not a chance, hombre. How dumb do you think I am. I am not going to lead you to some abandoned place."

And for the first time in this conversation, Victor lifted his hood and revealed his partly cybernetic face. He knew that the only way for him now was to reveal himself. "My name is Victor Stone. My father is Silas Stone lead scientist of the Newark Branch. I hope you realize, I am trusting you with a lot here. Not something I have had good experiences with lately"

Lost for words Cisco only replied "Woah."

\- Time Skip -

After going to a nearby warehouse. Victor began his story. First, he was unsure of what to say and tried to keep a lot to himself but once through his narration he started sharing more and more. It had been the first time since the accident that Victor told someone what happened. He had been afraid how it would be received, but Cisco never asked any question he only listened. Cisco usually wasn't a serious person and loved to add funny comments to everything but he knew that this wasn't appropriate in this case. So he just let Victor talk. Having this kind of safe place made Victor even speak about things he had initially wanted to keep to himself. He told Cisco about Claire, how he survived the accident and she didn't and even a bit about what he went through being operated on and the following time he spent in S.T.A.R. Labs. Not everything but from the look, he saw on Ciscos' face he guessed the man could read in between the lines. It was liberating for Victor to get everything off his chest. He had always been distant from his father, even before this whole mess, so he couldn't really confide in him but he had no such barriers for the likable stranger who was a lot closer to his age as well. It helped that he knew Cisco S.T.A.R. Labs files and that he respected his choice to remain in Central City and help the city with the meta's he was partly responsible for. That was also why he had felt safe to reveal his face in the first place. Only after telling his story, Victor realized just how much out of depth he really was. Making a half-cocked plan without having either the knowledge nor the technology to go through with the cloning. That is also why in the end he even confessed to his plans as well. That he had wanted to find Danton Black and replicate his powers. When he was done, Cisco finally for the first time since changing locations said something.

In Cisco like manner, he tried to alleviate the mood by saying "You had a rough couple of month kid and I have nothing but respect for you. But that is one sick of an origin story. You may not know this, but I have a wicked naming sense. I name most of the meta's we encounter. What about 'the terminator'?"

Not finding it particularly funny, Victor just blankly stared at him. Still, he was thankful that he had been accepted.

"Ok, a bad name. Great movie though. Sometimes it takes a while before the right inspiration hits me. Don't worry we will find the perfect fit eventually."

"I prefer to get back to my normal life. I don't need a pseudonym."

"Oh, yeah, speaking of your normal life. My friend Caitlyn usually handles the medical stuff though I never even heard of a successful cloning I am sure we can figure something out."

"No!" Victor shouted instantly. "I don't want more people knowing that I am still alive and even less that I am half-machine. It was never part of my plan to tell somebody, much less you. I already told you too much. Please don't tell others about me"

"You cannot believe that you can do this alone, do you?" Cisco asked incredulously.

"Well, not all the way. But for now, I do think it would be better to be as low key as possible. You would do me a real solid if you wouldn't tell anyone about me."

"I don't like to keep secrets from my friends." Cisco started. "But I am sure I can keep one for a friend," Cisco said lifting his fist waiting for a bump.

And for the first time since his transformation, Victor chuckled. He bumped the Ciscos' fist and replied "Friend."

"Great can I do a fast scan of your body? I have so many ideas for upgrades already."

Rolling his eye but still smiling Victor just said "Sure." It was nice for Victor to see such innocent excitement over new found tech. He had forgotten how that looked like after being hidden for so long and constantly fighting with his guilt.

"Sweet." Cisco nearly shouted.

\- Time Skip - A few days later -

"You want to do what?" Victor asked.

"Do I stutter? I said I want to integrate a sonic cannon into your arm. You will be able to split your hand, shift the parts around your wrist exposing the cannon in your arm." Cisco explained.

"Why do I even need a gun?"

"Not a gun. A sonic disrupter. You will be able to blast people with sound waves and at most cause heavy nausea and some physical trauma. Nothing that will permanently injure people. I have built something similar for a friend of mine on a much smaller scale. She uses a device to amplify her own screams. Yours will have more power behind it especially if we can link it to your power source. Which I will improve by the way."

"That is nice... Why do I need a sonic cannon?"

"First of all. It's on my bucket list to work on a cyborg. CYBORG! That is perfect! You hero name will be Cyborg!" Cisco excitedly shouted. "I told you it's my superpower to find perfect nicknames. Cyborg fits you perfectly and has a nice ring to it. Anyway, Cyborg, secondly, if it is still your plan to break in the Kryptonian alien ship in Metropolis you could youse a K.O. gun in case you are discovered."

Victor just blankly stared at his new friend. He thought about a reason to deny him but couldn't come up with any so he finally agreed albeit reluctantly. "I guess." Something about Cisco made Victor trust him and open up. He hadn't realized how much he had needed real human interaction and was secretly thankful. So he was a little more willing to give in to Cisco's 'upgrades' and only fought back a little.

"Sweet give me a few days to prepare everything. I am off to S.T.A.R. Labs and work on it immediately. See you around Cyborg." Cisco said got ready to leave.

"Cisco, " Victor stopped the engineer. "Cyborg is a great name."

"I know" Cisco grinned broadly, turned around and left.

\- Time Skip - Some more days later -

After replacing huge parts of Victors right arm and Cisco kept checking the numbers on his tablet. "Everything looks good. Your arm should be functional and your power source is fully integrated. If what you told me about your OS is true you should be able to activate your cannon with ease."

Doing as told Cyborg used his inner terminal to activate said cannon. Instantly his hand split into a ring and shifted over his arm only leaving the barrel of the weapon visible.

Exited Cisco observed every movement and finally said contently "Sweet, everything looks fine. Now shoot at the dummy."

Before starting the procedure the two men had installed some dummies in one corner of the warehouse. Aiming via the targeting system he had in his cybernetic eye, the newly named Cyborg pulled the trigger with a mental command and shouted "Booyah!". Instantly high pitched sound waves spread from his barrel towards the dummy. And at the speed of sound, the dummy was burst from his position into the wall. With a load 'Boom' it hit the ground after Victor deactivated the cannon. "That's a lot of power."

"Yeah, how much power do you have left?" Cisco wanted to know.

Checking his system he replied "That took about one-tenth of my reserves. Considering this was a full power blast I'd say I can shoot a few dozens of them if I adjust the power usage."

"Great! Did you have time to go through the hacking scripts I got you?" Cisco asked.

"I did, these are genius. I learned a lot. I didn't know that you were that good of a hacker. The backdoors you have on some of these systems. Damn." Victor praised good-naturedly.

"Oh, these aren't from me. A friend of mine wrote those so team Flash could access satellites and criminal databases if needed. She is a real wizard behind the keyboard."

"That she is. Please pass on the admiration of a fellow programming enthusiast. I will put them to good use."

"Will do. Would be less confusing though if I could tell her about you, homie. Considering I gave you some of her more dangerous hacks."

"Depends, will she inform anyone about me?"

"Yeah, probably." Cisco decided after thinking about Felicity's' and team Arrow tightness as a group.

"Then no, I can't risk the attention right now."

"Dude I am telling you again and again. You can trust these people. Take the Flash, for example, he is out there saving people every day. We fight for what is right. I trust every one of them with my life and my secrets and so could you."

"Cisco, we have been over this. I am looking for a way out of this. And while I admire your work in capturing meta's, the less I know about your group and the less they know about me the better for everyone involved. Look thank you for all you did for me, but if you feel you are betraying your friends then maybe we should part ways."

"Nah, don't get me wrong. I don't like keeping this from them. But when I decided to help you, I am in all the way. Besides, I have some more ideas for upgrades. I am thinking remote camera drone with a direct video stream to your eye. It might take me longer since I have to build the tech from the ground up this time." Cisco started rambling.

"Sounds great and despite how useful that would be right now, I need to start casing the alien vessel. The sooner I get into that Kryptonian ship the sooner I can get my hand on the cloning technology."

"We still need a way to transfer your mind even after you recover that tech. If it even exists." Cisco reminded him.

"I told you already. Every footage from the incident points to the conclusion that the monster that killed Superman was either created inside the ship or had been a prisoner and most experts agree that the beast seemed too strong to be held by a barely functioning vessel. So there is a strong possibility that the vessel has at least some kind of tech that allows me to clone myself. The numbers don't lie."

"I get that, but you still don't have access and the military could have easily pulled any relevant tech to a black site. It would be a better approach to hack into the military and look at what they have discovered. I know just the right girl for the job."

"I already told you, I am not ready to expand the circle of trust just yet."

"Cyborg, we need to be careful how we tackle this. We cannot do this alone. The Flash could be in and out before anyone would notice him."

"So you want the flash to trespass into a military base. That's treason. Unlike me, he doesn't really have a reason to do it. Would he even do it for a stranger?" Victor asked skeptically.

Cisco took a few moments before he answered. "I think so. If we would explain your situation and it's not like we mean any harm."

Not convinced, Victor stayed stubborn. "That's not a risk I am willing to take. Did you get the other stuff I requested?"

Not happy about the change of topic Cisco replied "Yeah a gas mask and a comlink. Not sure where to install these."

"I will store the gas mask in a hidden compartment inside my left thigh and do you see where my right ear used to be. I need you to install the comlink there." Victor explained.

"You want me to install it where? Does your ear even work anymore?" Cisco squeaked.

"Yes, it does. There is a small plate you can remove to get to my ear. It's not a beautiful sight but it is still fully functional."

Victor then said down and let Cisco do his work. While being 'upgraded' he told Cisco about his algorithm to let him automatically spot molecules in the air and warn him. It wasn't perfect yet and still needed a lot of work, but his cybernetic eye was not built for such minuscule measurements. He would need to upgrade it to be on the safe side. But right now he neither had the means or the know-how. Still, he kept it on his 'Top things for survival list'.

Finishing his work, Cisco tested the communication device. "Can you at least wait for me to finish the drones, so you can scout from a safe distance?"

"Good, the comlink works. How long would they take you to build?"

"Couple more weeks I guess. I don't have all the parts available and it's not that simple."

"That is too long for something this uncritical. I can scout the base just fine without it. It's not like it's somewhere secret. It just a crashed ship with a fence around it in the middle of Metropolis. Calling it military base is stretching it really far anyway." Victor tried to placate his friend.

"Base or not, there are soldiers around the clock guarding the vessel. They probably would have dismantled the thing already if it wasn't for the UN."

"No matter what I'll be in Metropolis by the end of the week. Starting my surveillance."


	4. Chapter 4

After casing the base for two weeks wearing altering outfits, Victor was finally ready. He knew the schedule of the guards when they patrolled and even when they liked to smoke. Being prepared and with a plan in mind, Vic waited for the sun to go down. Under cover of darkness, he approached the Kryptonian vessel from the east, the direction that provided the most covered approach. After Vic reached the outer perimeter, the mechanical man stayed hidden while continually scanning as much ground as possible using his eye. Hearing no alarm, Victor was confident that he chose the right approach. In five minutes the next shift change would occur, and he would get the window he needed to infiltrate the ship.

When the moment finally came, he jumped over the fence, landed with a roll and without breaking his momentum, he began running. Sadly his eye couldn't penetrate the walls of the ship so the next part would depend on some luck on his part. But considering the size of the ship and how many soldiers were posted at the base he was confident in his chances.

Gaining entrance over the loading ramp Victor got inside what looked like a loading bay. It was full of U.S. military containers ready to be transported. He needed quickly to find a computer to find out if any cloning tech was already logged and inside one of these boxes. Looking around while staying hidden behind boxes he couldn't spot any guards. If there was no change today, they should have started their patrol on the other side of the base a few minutes ago, and he would have about 20 minutes time until they enter the ship for a sweep.

He planned to be either finished or hidden well enough by that time. It didn't take Victor to find an unmanned workstation. Instantly connecting to the laptop on the table he opened an internal console. He would have no password or access card this time and would need to rely on his hacking skills to answer this. He first rerouted the network over to his comlink and had it acting as a router. This way he would see every outgoing message and could block them if necessary. Knowing the standard responses, he quickly just faked a proper response of the authentication server and gained admin access to the workstation. Wasting no time he sieved through the data and copied any relevant data. There was no mention of a cloning device, but it looked like the monster which apparently got the code name 'Doomsday' was created in a pool inside the ship from DNA of one of the invading Kryptonians named Zod. That means it was possible to create a body inside this ship. He would need to find the device and do a full scan. Hopefully, he would be able to connect to Kryptonian tech.

He then got the layout of the ship before shutting down the computer and leaving for the cloning device. He passed three rooms before reaching his target. He hadn't seen or heard a single soul so far, and it looked like he was currently alone on the ship. Entering the pool room, he stood in front of a small lab. He knew that this computer should contain more information concerning the procedure. Using the same trick as earlier he easily gained access and immediately started his search. A grin spread on his face as he read through a file containing information about a project called Cadmus. The military was trying to clone Superman, but with a less volatile result then Doomsday had been. It was like Victor just had been gifted a blueprint for his plans. As disturbing it was to have the military try to create and control Superman they still were a long way away from any result. They lacked the genius Lex Luthor possessed when creating his Kryptonian.

A talent he was confident he could replicate with a think tank Cisco and him would create. He would need the liquid of the pool, as it was essential for creating tissue, so he took a sample and hid it in one of the many compartments inside his body. His estimated time was almost up, so he went towards the exit.

But as soon as he reached the door, he heard boots hitting the ground, lots of boots. He wondered when they had discovered him and why he hadn't heard any alarm? This was definitely not good. Victor tried to come up with an exit strategy that would evade any fighting and started looking at the previously downloaded map of the ship.

Unsure how to proceed, he hesitated and when the door opened he panicked. His fight or flight instinct kicked in and Cyborg chose later. He started running deeper into the ship, but just before he reached the first corner, he heard shots. Soon after Victor felt an impact on his back, but thankfully he was a bulletproof metal man now.

It wasn't even enough to send him sprawling to the ground. Victor instead also sped up and ran as fast as he could.

Not soon after he found himself in a dead end.

It was some kind of storage room the military hasn't gotten to just yet. In the middle of the room was a small podium with a box on it and at the back where several shelves filled with objects of all sizes. Most importantly this room had no other exit than the one he entered. The walls looked as if they were made out of steel and he was sure if they belonged to the outer hull they would be strengthened, but nonetheless, he went to wall opposite of the door and tried creating a hole.

He quickly realised though that he was going nowhere this way and he would need to fight his way out. Since the soldiers should storm the room any second now, he got himself ready by the door.

Maybe he could create enough chaos to escape quickly.

Having no real fighting experience, Victor would have to rely on his superior physique and the fact that they shouldn't be able to hurt him. Still, it was a genuinely unfortunate turn of events since he would reveal himself and in an antagonistic manner at that. He was clinging to the hope that he would just need to knock out a few soldiers and then bluff his way out. If they thought him invincible and to be some kind of new Superman they would definitely back off. There should be no need for a fight to the death.

When the door opened, Cyborg was ready and jumped to the first group of soldiers. Even without training, the fight was quickly over.

It was like he was ignoring his opponents' attempts to block. In a matter of seconds, he had knocked three people out. Meanwhile, the other soldiers had been shooting at him at every chance they got but without result.

Somebody in the back then shouted an order and one man jumped forwards holding an army knife.

And for a moment Cyborg had not been able to hit the man. He was likely a close combat expert that dodged Victors clumsy attacks. However, it took not long for a subroutine in his OS to start. It had analysed the fighting style of the experienced soldier and with his cybernetic eye cyborg didn't just see where his opponent was but was also seeing how he would move with what percentage. For example, Cyborg knew that a left hook would cause the man with 40% certainty to take a step back. The algorithm kept adjusting and the longer the fight took, the higher his chance to predict the movements correctly.

It didn't even take a minute, and he was destroying the other man in the battle.

With an aimed kick into the gut, he sent the man flying into a wall where he just collapsed.

But just as he turned around afterwards, it was him who was sent flying, and he got thrown back into the room.

It seemed like they had switched to some kind of explosive munition.

Sadly for the soldiers, it did not have any other effect on Cyborg then to knock him back and since he would be prepared know he knew he could mitigate the impact.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Victor activated his sonic cannon arm and shot a full power burst into the first row of soldiers.

When the sound wave hit, they were swept off their feet and hurled into the lines behind them.

But even this display of power didn't seem to shake Victor's adversaries.

He was now sure that they had to be some kind of special forces.

It was then, that he heard a rough voice from the backline, "Fire in the hole!" and then several grenades were launched into his direction.

It seemed the enemy had realised that they could not win without stronger weaponry.

But just because they were ready to sacrifice some of their own, didn't mean Victor would allow it.

He was not remotely ready to have more blood on his hands. That is why he jumped one the onto those thrown explosive with a shout "You fucking morons!".

He was trying to cover the blast with his metallic body.

As he was hoping that he hadn't missed any, it didn't take long for the grenades to explode and with a massive boom, everyone inside the floor was sent on their backs.

Luckily for Victor, he had survived even this, but his core had been damaged he got warning message after warning message. He would need to connect to a power source immediately, or he would die. Victor knew that it would be unlikely for him to survive.

But not ready to die after what he had survived in recent times, he could only continue his struggle. With a quick glance over his shoulder, he knew he had a couple of minutes, so he went back into the untouched storage room. Without wast a second he approached the small cube that had been in the centre previously and started scanning the box. The blast had knocked it down as well, but thankfully his scans confirmed that it was indeed something like a generator but would need some way to connect to it. When he lifted it, something unexpected happened, and the box revealed power ports Victor could attach to. Even pressed as he was, Vic stared in wonder. He did only wonder shortly though why the alien device had human tech ports and why they showed when he touched the cube.

With his time running out and having no other choice, Victor connected his power cable to the box.

As soon he plugged the wire into the box, it lost its form and latched onto him.

What he experienced then was even more surprising. He wasn't in such pain since his first transformation. It hasn't been long and even just thinking about it still made Victor flinch. This time every cell in his body hurt. He also felt pain from his metallic limbs it was as he was on fire.

Not being able to withstand the pain, he let out a deafening cry.

"Aahhhhhh!"

He didn't understand what was happening, how was this pain possible.

He was a machine, he should be in control of pain.

The next thing that happened was even more surprising. A ripple went through his body. It was as if his form was no longer stable.

It was a perplexing feeling, and besides the pain, Victor felt as if he was in a pool floating around.

It was a truly bizarre and paradoxical experience.

Not able to understand what was happening, Victor tried everything to regain control of his body, but other than willing and wishing it he was left without a clue.

After a few seconds, a thought appeared in his mind. Somehow this thought seemed foreign even while he understood that it was in his own mind.

'Synchronisation complete.'

Before even being able to begin pondering what that means a shockwave seemed to originate from him making a loud "boom" sound.

The few soldiers that managed to get up were thrown back again. Even more brutally at that then the shockwave created by the grenades.

Victor stood steady though. He began to check his current state. The interface to his system felt like a limb, like a new arm. It was as if he was no longer bound by preprogrammed commands, his system understood his desires. Before he even could voice the command, his own stats were displayed over his 'inner eye'.

Cyborg

Cybernetic Humanoid

Charging in Progress (2%)

Victor swallowed a gulp. 'Cybernetic Humanoid', not human. For several seconds he entirely focused on those two words. They hurt him on an existential level, it was a sharp pain as if he had been stabbed into his chest. Only after a few moments did he realise, that his systems didn't recognise him as Victor Stone. Instead, he was called Cyborg. Maybe he knew, on a subconscious level, that he lost the last part of his identity alongside the final strand of humanity. He could and would no longer be Victor Stone as long he had not regained his human body. When he heard the groans of the soldiers lying around him, he was once again reminded of his current situation.

He still needed to get away. Coupled with his low energy levels, he was still far from safe.

For now, he had to find a way out. He instinctively recalled the map he previously downloaded. He needed to head back to the loading bay. Ignoring the still incapacitated soldiers, Cyborg made his way towards the exit.

The effort was to no avail since the vessel was entirely surrounded by dozens of soldiers. When he arrived at the ramp, he was greeted by an overweight black women wearing a dark purple suit. She had a no-nonsense face, and her entire character screamed in control. On peek onto the surrounding soldiers revealed much of the same to Victor, since they were apparently waiting for her orders.

Even her voice radiated with authority to Victor as she said:

"You are under arrest for the trespassing of an off-limits ground, espionage and depending on their state agrevated assault or murder of US Citizens. Surrender now. This is your last and only warning."

As soon these last words were spoken, Victor had several alarms go off on his UI.

'Threat detected'.

Cyborg was speechless as his right arm started to change form into some kind of energy weapon. Knowing this was not the time to marvel at what was happening, he addressed the woman in charge and tried to bluff.

"I don't take well to threats." and with a lift of his a new weapon, he took aim "Who are you?"

"I am Amanda Waller from A.R.G.U.S., we noticed your surveillance of this place and we don't talk lightly to threats to our national security"


End file.
